Veteran politician John Swinney is on course to become the head of the Scottish National party and the next first minister of Scotland after his main challenger Kate Forbes said she would not enter the race to lead the party.

If elected SNP leader to replace Humza Yousaf, who resigned this week, Swinney would have to work with other parties to lead the Scottish government, since his party has 63 seats and the opposition has 65.

But Forbes’ decision to stand aside means that the SNP will probably avoid a repeat of last year’s bruising leadership contest, which she narrowly lost to Yousaf.

Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has given its nod for appointment of Hitesh Kumar Sethia as Managing Director and CEO of Jio Financial Services for three years period from November 15,2023.

This approval is however subject to the condition that the appointee holds a valid Employment Visa throughout his tenure in India, said a MCA letter, which has been filed with the stock exchanges by Jio Financial Services Ltd.

The MCA approval is under and in respect of the provisions of the Companies Act 2013 and should not be considered as covering any requirement of security clearance, for which the company/appointee shall be responsible, said the MCA letter.

Renowned playback singer Uma Ramanan, who predominantly sang in Tamil, passed away at 72 in Chennai on Wednesday.

She is survived by her singer-husband AV Ramanan and her son, Vignesh Ramanan.

India Today in a report mentioned that Ramanan was a trained classical singer and appeared in more than 6,000 concerts in 35 years. Song Poongathave Thalthiravai in the Nizhalgal film catapulted her to fame.

Some of her famous songs for Ilaiyaraaja include 'Bhoopalam Isaikkum' from 'Thooral Ninnu Pochchu', 'Aanandha Raagam' from 'Panner Pushpangal, 'Kanmani Nee Vara' from 'Thendrale Ennai Thodu', 'Ponn Maanae' from 'Oru Kaidhiyin Dairy', 'Aagaya Vennilave' from 'Arangetra Velai' and 'Sri Ranga Ranganathanin' from 'Mahanadi', among others.

Constitution Park, jointly developed by Indian Army and Punit Balan Group, was inaugurated in Pune on Monday. The park was inaugurated by GOC-in-C, Southern Command, Lt Gen Ajai Kumar Singh. Speaking after the inauguration, Lt. Gen. Ajai Kumar Singh said that in order to propel India towards development by 2047, every citizen must honor the duties outlined in the Constitution. Constitution of India bestows upon us both Fundamental Rights and Fundamental Duties, he said.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Punit Balan, President of Punit Balan Group, Janhavi Dhariwal-Balan, President of Manikchand Oxyrich and Manikchand Group, and Maj. Gen. Vikrant Naik, General Officer Commanding of Dakshin Maharashtra and Goa Sub Area.

Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) successfully secured $400 million (approximately Rs 29,600 crore) on Thursday from a consortium of five leading international banks.

The funds will be used for its ongoing 750 MW solar power projects in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

It will support the completion and commissioning of these solar projects, with operations expected to begin from November 2024 onwards.

One of the key projects, located in Rajasthan, boasts a capacity of 500 MW and has a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).

A wildlife biologist from Assam has been honoured with a leading UK wildlife charity award for her conservation efforts of the endangered Greater Adjutant Stork and its wetland habitat.

Dr Purnima Devi Barman won the GBP 1,00,000 Whitley Gold Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN), which supports grassroots conservation leaders from around the world, at a Royal Geographical Society awards ceremony in London on Wednesday evening.

Ms Barman received the trophy from charity patron Princess Anne – the Princess Royal, the sister of King Charles III, in recognition of her conservation of the stork known locally as “Hargila” in Assamese.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on May 2 said that 97.76 percent of the Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have returned to the banking system.

The total value of such banknotes in circulation declined to Rs 7,961 crore at the close of business on April 30, 2024, from Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes was announced, the RBI said in a statement.

The central bank announced the withdrawal of the high-value denomination banknotes from circulation as part of its clean note policy.

The facility for deposit and / or exchange of the Rs 2,000 banknotes was available at all bank branches in the country upto October 07, 2023.

China is set to launch the Chang'e-6 lunar probe on a round trip to the Moon.

The spacecraft is on the launch pad in the southern province of Hainan and has completed a final rehearsal for the launch, covering all relevant systems.

The Chang'e-6 mission marks a significant step forward for China's space endeavours, as it aims to gather soil and rock samples from the far side of the Moon, a region that has remained permanently hidden from Earth's view.

This will be the first-ever attempt to retrieve lunar samples from the far side, providing valuable insights into the early evolution of the Moon and the inner solar system.

The Central Government has approved the appointment of Bhushan Singh (IRTS) as Secretary (at Director level) of National Jute Board, Kolkata under the Ministry of Textiles.

According to an order issued from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Singh has been appointed to the post for a period of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Singh is an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) of 2010-batch. “He may kindly be relieved of his duties immediately with instructions to take up his new assignment,” the order read.

“However, in view of declaration of election to the Lok Sabha, if the officer is on election related duty he may kindly be relieved after due clearance from the Election Commission of India to take up his new assignment in the Ministry of Textile," the order further read.

Gloucestershire wicketkeeper-batter, Ben Wells has announced retirement from professional cricket at the age of 23 after being diagnosed with a rare heart condition.

The English youngster made his Gloucestershire debut in 2021, struck 40 runs in 94 balls against Glamorgan at Cardiff in his only first-class innings.

Wells produced a match-winning knock of 108* against Durham in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last season which marked his only professional hundred.

On Wednesday in an open letter which was published on Gloucestershire's official website, Wells disclosed that he has been diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) due to which he has to retire from professional cricket.